Very refreshing to read about a time and place I know little about. Spain during Franco's dictatorship. A well written and page turning novel about the hardships of the Spanish during post WWII, until Franco's death. Comparing them to the freedom and luxury of life outside of Spain, in particular a USA family. A love story too, of a couple who had to ride out the regime before finding themselves again.

It's 1957, and Daniel Matheson is spending several months in Spain, under the dictatorship of Franco, with his American father and Spanish mother. As Daniel uses his camera to see the real side of Madrid, he also begins to know Ana - the maid in his hotel whose family have been cruelly treated by the Spanish Civil War, and Franco's regime. Daniel begins to discover the terrible and beautiful sides of Spain, but also needs to question how far he can delve into secrets, especially if they put Ana in danger.

This is a slow-burn story showing a side of Spain that's easily forgotten and also focusing on an issue of stolen children and corruption in the orphanages and the religious orders that run them that many people do not know about. Once I got to grips with the different POVs in the story (there are a few, which is definitely a style of Sepetys), I really began to enjoy the story being told and the type of Spain being shown to me.

The POVs, while a few of them, it did seem to add something to every side of Spain. There was Daniel, the tourist, Ana, the girl wanting to escape, Julia, the mother, Puri, the one who believed, and Rafa, the fighter.

I did find myself completely enthralled by the story and the deeper I got, the deeper I began to feel and fear for the characters. There was such an air of menace and violence.

I did find myself a bit disappointed in part 2 versus part 1, mostly because something happened which is just not something I like when it happens to characters. Things felt slightly rushed as well, which I presumed would happen as part 2 didn't start till 80% into the book. And it ended a tiny bit abruptly so I was shocked when I turned the page and that was it.

I received a free ebook version of this book from Netgalley. Thankyou to both Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this! My review is still honest.

Sepetys has a knack for pinpointing periods of history that are lesser known-Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray both cast light on times that aren't frequently discussed. This one is no different. An evocative portrayal of Spain under Franco's rule, it is entertaining, emotional and educational all at once.
These characters jump right off the page! I loved reading about each of their inner desires, their hopes, their doubts about the world around them and how they lived with them. It was a hard story to read, and one made all the more upsetting by the fact that the events are true. It really felt like the author did a lot of research with this, because the culture and historical nature seemed so vivid and real. I was incredibly satisfied with the ending and really ended up caring deeply about each character.
I will say that for a good portion of the start of this book, the multiple POVs were quite disorientating and I found it difficult to keep track of who was who. It was hard to get into, although it did become far easier around the halfway point.
This one is probably my least favourite of the 3 Sepetys books I've now read, although it is by no means bad! It simply didn't seem quite so perfect as Salt to the Sea or Between Shades of Gray, but I still highly recommend it. It's different to anything else I've ever read and opened my eyes to events I hadn't even heard of.

Spain has opened its borders to American tourists and those in the oil industry looking for business. Ana is working at the Hilton hotel, surrounded by tourists and Americans living a very different life to her own. Her cousin, her sister, brother, everyone she knows is trying desperately to live life safely under Franco's regime. She doesn't want to meet the same fatal end her parents did for rebelling against him. And then there's Daniel, the son of a Texan oil tycoon come to America with his family as his father tries to seal a deal, who is only interested in photography, taking pictures of the real Spain... and Ana. 

I adored this book. With switching POV's, Sepetys doesn't fail to build each character individually and give them all their own strong voices. I love how she always brings her books to life, especially since they are usually about a period of history that is rarely written about in fiction. Sepetys is a very skilled author, obviously conducting a lot of research before she starts writing, to make sure that I, as a reader, can immerse myself fully in her characters and their lives. I loved every second of reading The Fountains of Silence.

5 stars.

Ruta Sepetys has done a magnificent job transmitting the feelings, the emotions of people subjugated to Franco’s regime. Everyone knows about the dictatorship in Spain, but most of us only know what we’ve read from the history books in school. That is why Historical Fiction is such a powerful tool to expand that knowledge, to dive deeper, to get personal and learn about important historical events from a different perspective.

The fiction element and the made-up characters are what brings so much emotion into the book, that helps us, readers, to memorize the historical events. They get imprinted in our minds and in our hearts because we feel so deeply for people who suffered from the regime and its consequences.

Besides the emotional factor, Ruta Sepetys was able to weave in her fictional story some very important elements of Franco’s regime:
- the place of women in the society,
- the lost children of Francoism,
- the poverty and inequality,
- the rising doubts in Spanish Catholic Church,
- the international relationship between postwar Spain and the USA.

With so many female characters in The Fountains of Silence, it was only right to provide a better view of women’s rights and place in Franco’s Spain. We got to see the comparison of views, wishes, and lifestyles between (1) Purification , the smart young girl devoted to the Catholic Church, working in the orphanage that was run by nuns; (2) Ana and Julia , the daughters of the Republicans, barely surviving in the poorest part of Madrid, trying to make the ends meet; and (3) the life of American women , portrayed through Daniel’s mother and girlfriend, the photographs in magazines and newspapers that were scattered around the Hotel where Ana worked but forbidden everywhere else.

Reading about the ultimate destiny of women (motherhood) and seeing those young girls so scared of Franco’s dictatorship and his Crows, the guards of his regime, but also so fearless about protecting their families, distinguishing right from wrong, left a deep mark on me and my perception of women’s rights. It made me think about how far we’ve come, especially in the Western and European societies. And how many women there still are that suffer from that fear every single day.

Continuing the previous point, I couldn’t skip the part about the lost children of Francoism. That is something that I didn’t know about this period of time and only researched after finishing the book because I was so horrified by t these events.

This all began with the children being abducted from their Republican parents, and put in the orphanages or gave out for adoption to “proper” families in hopes that the “right” parents will remove that republican strike from the children.

Later on, the abduction of children developed into a business. Often, in hospitals and cliniques, newborns would be declared dead to their parents, just to be sold for a higher price for adoption.~

This truly horrified me, and the events in the book translated this theme very well. I’ve read a couple of articles on this subject after I finished the book, and I still can’t wrap my head about the fact that something like that in such magnitude and with the involvement of so many people actually happened.

As you can see, I’d highly recommend this book solely based on the social conditions and representation of Francoism. However, those were not the only elements that were done magnificently well.

Ana, Daniel, Rafa, Purification and others, each of their stories played with my feelings, made me happy for them and sad when things went downhill. Their personal stories were captivating, and I couldn’t get enough of them. And even after the book ended, I wanted more, I needed to know what Puri went through. I needed to see Rafa and how life treated him after the events. I just grew so attached to the characters that I didn’t want to let them go.

I could talk about this book for hours. I’d tell you about the fearless Rafa, righteous Fuga, and cautious Julian. But I wouldn’t do them justice the same way that Ruta Sepetys did. The Fountains of Silence is, in my opinion, a true masterpiece of historical fiction, and everyone needs to read it at least once in their lifetime.

At first I could not find the words to express my rating process, because for a long time this was closer to a 3-star than a 4-star book for me. Alas, the author's note at the end supplied me with the key-word; Ruta Sepetys is a"crossover" author, meaning her books are picked up by both teen and adult readers. The fact that this was (mainly) targeted toward younger audiences was one of the reasons I rated this book so highly. You may find this explanation unwarranted or confusing, but bear with me: An adult reader of historical fiction might view this book at a slightly different angle than a predominantly YA reader. As a fan of both, I must admit that I went in expecting an adult novel and felt that it was falling short. Once that happened, I researched this book a bit and, combined with Sepetys' note near the end, my whole viewpoint changed. That is why I believe placing The Fountains of Silence in Children's fiction was more than a strategic move for publishing and marketing purposes; it was the author's way to infuse the new generation with knowledge and curiosity, because they are the fresh blood, whereby lies the hope of a brighter future with them as protagonists and catalysts. 

What you've most probably heard about Ruta Sepetys is true; she creates well-researched projects that inspire you to learn more about the story, the place, the people, the history. That much was evident throughout The Fountains of Silence. She helpfully provides the reader with so many sources of information, making individual research more accessible whilst offering a plethora of reference points and historical sources. A historical fiction author has to carry a heavy weight when fictionalising based on true events and Sepetys absolutely delivers. On a more subjective note, the fact that the events take place in Madrid brought back such amazing memories from my recent trip there. The references to Retiro Park, Prado Museum, Toledo and so many other places and monuments transported me back, when I was visiting all those sights myself. That's why it holds a special place in my heart.  

The intrigue of the plot itself comes from following different characters with different backgrounds and seemingly separate sub-stories that end up becoming a part of a bigger jigsaw. It was so engrossing witnessing how all the pieces came together; how a love between a Spanish worker in a hotel and an American occupant with Spanish roots intertwined with a big scandal of illegal adoptions and children rooted out of their homes without their parents' consent; how fear of losing what one has left after having endured so much loss in the past bound them to silence; how an orphan with aspirations to become a bullfighter knew what it was like for him and other children to be cast away from their families without having any control over their lives. The antithesis between children that were abandoned and children that were forcefully and secretly taken from their biological families is so stark in this novel, yet the repercussion remained the same; in both cases they felt unwanted and without a sense of belonging or direction. When I sit and ponder over how a child ended up being adopted without their families having a say, I feel so infuriated and appalled. How does one decide over someone else's child's future, which, according to sources, took place more than 300,000 times? The sensitivity of this issue shed  light on the sociopolitical and financial background of the times, and I am so grateful to have gained some knowledge on that matter. More than that, the complexity and sublayers of the story gradually caught up with me even after having finished the book. It is so challenging for a story to resonate with the reader, but this one did. 

If there is one element that did not fully satisfy me, it was the character structure. The protagonists did not feel as multifaceted as I had anticipated. On the contrary, it felt like each person was one-dimensional, with a specific purpose and one way of viewing life and everyone around them. As for the reading experience, I switched between the digital ARC that I was granted access to via NetGalley and Random House Children's Publishers UK and the audiobook, so as to save time. While I appreciated the Spanish-accented narrator who enabled me to virtually travel to Madrid and hear all those Spanish conversations (the Spanish glossary at the end of the e-book did not go amiss and was a great touch that once again displayed the author's all-rounded research), she felt rather monotonous at times. Overall, I would suggest the physical book or e-book for this one. The brief chapters make it flow rather quickly and effortlessly. 

I couldn't have concluded in a better way than the author herself, whose incentive and message is found in her own words: "When you discover the truth, you must speak it aloud and help others to do the same. Truth breaks the chain of silence. It sets us all free."

A book set in Franco’s Spain in the 1930s, this is a heartbreaking story with a lot of historical detail about a time I don’t know much about. Having visited Madrid recently, I enjoyed reading about the city’s hidden past and the travails its people suffered. This is a well written novel which I would recommend.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this early. This was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it didn’t disappoint as usual I love all of Ruta Sepetys books. I found the back and forth between the characters telling their own stories very interesting and this made me want to keep reading to the end to find out everything that had happened to them. I also really enjoyed the premise of this book following the dictatorship of Franco, which is a subject I’m not all that clued up on. This book has left me thinking about everything and what it must of been like back then in Spain and also wanting to know a whole lot more!
I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes Ruta’s books and/or historical fiction. I give this book 4.5 stars

This is a fantastic book set (mostly) in 1950s Madrid, when Franco was still in power, the poor were oppressed and the Americans were just being allowed in to Spain to set up military bases and bases. This is a time before package deals to Torremolinos, and what a difference 10 years or so makes. Or maybe it's just that tourists were kept remote from and ignorant of the seedier side of life in the sun. In this story the worlds of poor Spaniards and rich Americans collide with various results. This is an eye-opening book and highly recommended.

This is my second Ruta Sepetys so I sort of knew what to expect: gorgeous writing, historical background and heartbreak. And The Fountains of Silence did not disappoint.

This book takes place during Franco’s Spain, in the 50s, and follows different characters who all end up being connected in some ways. There is Daniel, the American boy who’s in Spain because his father is doing business with Franco; Ana, a hotel maid assigned to Daniel’s family whose past is heavy with secrets; Puri, Ana’s cousin and a nurse at an orphanage where sinister things take place.

As usual, Sepetys goes back and forth between characters although Daniel seemed to be the one we followed the most. I really didn’t mind the back and forth and found each storyline really interesting and captivating. I found myself really liking this set of characters! Daniel being my favourite.

The story itself deals with the effects of Franco’s dictatorship on Spaniards as well as Spain’s Stolen Babies. It was really super interesting to read a story taking place during that time as it seems very rare to find such a historical setting in YA.
The writing was as gorgeous and captivating as ever.

My only complaint would be regarding the 18 year gap there is between part 1 and 2 as well as the way things end - I wanted more, a lot more. I felt we were left with still a lot of questions at the end and I admit, I’m not a big fan of open ending and would have liked to see what happened after Daniel talks to Puri.

To conclude, I can say I really enjoyed The Fountains of Silence and would definitely recommend it to anyone wanting to read a good YA historical novel - and also recommend Ruta Sepetys for YA historical fiction, period. I did have a few minor issues regarding the ending but otherwise it was a really, really good book giving us a fascinating historical background that is not often dealt with in YA.

A book that for me is also a time machine . You are taken right back in history to Francos Spain. It feels so realistic and that is purely down to the talent of the writing by Rita Sepetys.
I will admit it is a bit of a slow starter but please stay with it as trust me it will be worth it.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Penguin random house uk for gifting me this book

A superb book. Really takes you into Franco's Spain, and the lives of its characters. It's a book that slowly but surely seeps into your brain, and you find yourself thinking about it as you go about your everyday rountines. Perhaps my favourite read of 2019 thus far. As good, if not better, than the author's 'Salt to the Sea', and that, in itself, set a very high bar. Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me a copy in return for this review.

Ruta Sepetys is one of those authors who you know you can trust to write thoroughly-researched and engaging historical fiction. The kind that transports you there, puts you in that context better than any history class might. She takes you down to the individual level of big historical events. In this case, the Franco regime in Spain, and the “relocation” of the babies of people who disagreed politically with Franco.

There are a multitude of POVs in this book – so many that if I tried to list them all, I might well leave some out by accident. Perhaps the most important ones are Anna, Daniel, Puri and Rafa, because each of them tells a separate thread of the story. The book opens in Madrid, 1957. Spain is gradually opening up to the world, letting American businessmen (like Daniel’s father) and diplomats stay in the country and doing deals with said businessmen. Anna works at the hotel where Daniel is staying, while Rafa, her brother, is helping his friend, Fuga, become a matador. Puri, Anna’s cousin, works at an orphanage, under the charge of Catholic nuns. Anna’s mother and father had been Republicans (though now are both dead), while Puri’s parents were staunch Francoists. (The book does give you a rundown of both sides at the start, though briefly here: Francoists/Nationalists = fascists/rich landowners (and the Church), Republicans = the amalgamation of groups who opposed them, including, though not limited to, people supporting the elected government and communists.)

This story showcases what Sepetys does best. Takes individual lives in a historical event and contextualises it for you. It’s been done countless times, particularly with more well-known events. Psychologically speaking, it probably makes it easier to empathise when you have individual people and are thinking on a smaller scale. And Sepetys is so so good at it. She creates these characters you just want to root for. You want to go back and change history so nothing bad happens to them.

But there’s also a way that historical accuracy lets the book down slightly for me. Because things start to feel unresolved. There are all these hints that characters have started to work out that babies are being stolen, but nothing is done about it. It ends abruptly with Daniel’s departure from Spain. And I know that in real life, nothing would have been done, for fear of risking being seen as an enemy of Franco. But in a book, it just makes things feel un-tied up. Okay, so the 18 years later part does something towards that, yes, but it’s like the start of the resolution rather than the resolved end of a novel. Though, hey, this is all personal, and I know I’m the kind of person who hates even the slightest hint of an open ending, so that was always going to be a problem.

Finally, the narrative never really felt damning enough of Daniel’s father’s involvement with Franco (among other things). It almost seemed a bit like a shrug and a “well that’s how it was” moment. We know from the book Franco has done horrific things – there are reminders of how Anna’s mother was tortured for being a Republican, how her father was killed by his supporters. But it’s always knocked off on “the Crows” (the Guardia Civil) rather than being actually attributed to him. In a way, it seems to be downplaying his dictatorship. So while the book is a good one, the fact that Ruta Sepetys is coming at the time period from an outsider’s perspective definitely shows.

If there’s one thing this book does very successfully though (albeit incidentally I assume), it’s show how all the “for the Spanish people” bullshit coming from the American government and businesses felt a lot more like it was enabling Franco than actually helping the Spanish people.

So yeah, I did enjoy this book. It’s probably thinking more about it while reviewing that’s lead me to like it less.

After reading Salt to the Sea, I knew that I had to read anything by Ruta Sepetys simply because that book broke me a little bit in the best way possible. Comparing The Fountains of Silence with Salt to the Sea was going to be an obvious and natural thing for me and I was prepared for it but the funny thing is, I never really ended up comparing them. Sure they are both books about dark times in human history and once again, she decided to use the voice of young adults rather than the ‘proper’ adults but the thing is. That’s where the similarities end for me.

The story revolves around four main characters, brother and sister Rafa and Ana and their cousin Puri and an American teenager just out of high school, Daniel. Rafa and Ana have suffered a lot over the years and each deal with it in their own ways. Rafa works two jobs, one at a slaughterhouse and another at the cemetery and has an immense faith in his friend Fuga. Despite his suffering at the hands of the government or maybe because of it, Rafa is optimistic where as Ana has dreams of her own and wants to leave the oppressing place she’s stuck in. Puri is the result of the way how even a successful doctrine can start to fall apart after a while. Daniel is a young man who is more interested in looking at the world through his camera lens than look after his father’s business. All these characters meet up and have their lives entangle with each other because Daniel’s family stays at the Castellana Hilton where Ana works.

It was through this book that I came to learn more about the Spanish struggle under Generalissimo Franco. Before, I was aware of it but never really thought much about it but Sepetys really manages to get the reader feel the oppression and the constant worry and the unending fear through her writing. I could see and feel the poverty of Vallecas and I never knew that a hopeful bullfighter had to have sponsor and in order for that to happen, he needed to risk his life. There were so many things I was completely unaware of and which made me want to learn more about this period in Spain’s history. There’s so many layers to this book that I feel like if I re-read it some other time, I will be surprised by its secrets unveiling again.

As far as the characters are concerned, there’s such an ease to getting to know the characters that it was almost halfway over before I realised that I had read more than I needed to for the day. The setting, the period and the characters made this book, no doubt about that. As with Salt to the Sea, there are a few characters that I absolutely loved to hate and I cried for Fuga and I felt so bad for Puri and her slow understanding of horrible things happening in her work. There’s romance as well but there’s friendship and nuanced relationships which were just superbly done. There were times when I just put down the book and thought, ‘Wow, yes, that’s a good friendship.’ or ‘What have they gone through, dear god!’.

Overall, a story set during the reign of the Generalissimo Franco and the policies that affected an entire country in horrible ways, managed to wow me just as much as Salt to the Sea did. There was love and loss and a sense of undeniable doom and throughout it all, those characters shone through and I absolutely loved it, okay? The sense of danger and secrets that made everyone’s lives dangerous, gosh, typing this review makes me want to read it again and that should tell you enough about this book, I think.

I'm ashamed to say that before I read Ruta Sepetys's The Fountains of Silence, I knew nothing about the Spanish Civil War or the subsequent years under the Franco dictatorship. That didn't stop me from immediately picking up this novel because I read and loved her preceding novel Salt to the Sea and I knew that Sepetys has an incredible talent for bringing the past to life in a way that is educating and absolutely relevant to the post-millennial world.

Set in Madrid in 1957 at the height of Franco's rule, The Fountains of Silence explores a city under the control of an authoritarian Catholic state. The son of an oil-rich Texan, Daniel Matherson is staying at the Castellana Hilton with his parents. Daniel wants nothing more than to be a photographer but his father wants him to join the oil business and for Daniel to achieve his dream, his only choice is to win a prize which would pay for his studies.

Daniel meets Ana, a maid at the hotel. The child of Republican parents who were murdered when she was a baby, Ana's siblings have only known hardship and poverty. Working at the Castellana Hilton is a dream for Ana and her family and might just be their ticket to a life outside of their shack in Vallecas. She won't do anything to jeopardise her position at the hotel.

Ana's brother Rafa endured years of torture and pain at an orphanage with his best friend Fuga. He will do anything he can to ease Fuga's pain and to help him achieve his dream of becoming a matador. Their cousin Puri is working as a nun at the Inclusa orphanage in Madrid. She loves the babies that she looks after but uncovers a dark secret regarding paid adoptions and what appears to be mysterious infant deaths.

The lives of these four individuals and countless others are woven together in a tale that is rich and powerful, that paints a picture of Madrid in the late 50s and an unearths a scandal about stolen babies, careless gossip and life under the watchful eye of Franco's secret police, the Guardia Civil.

One particular talent Ruta Sepetys has is the authenticity of her work. Sepetys doesn't deliver nice or happy endings, there are no knights rushing in to save the day or any unreasonably fortuitous outcomes. As a result, I spent much of the novel crying my eyes out at the sheer unfairness of it all, for life was unfair for a great many people in Francoist Spain. As with Salt to the Sea, The Fountains of Silence broke my heart into tiny pieces and made me hungry to know more about this dark time in history.

It was quite an experience to read this novel at the same time as I was listening to Margaret Atwood's The Testaments on audiobook. My evenings were filled with an exploration of life under Franco, of the loss of freedom and the constant fear of persecution. Meanwhile, my days were consumed by the speculative musings of where Conservative ideas might lead us, of the increasing claims to women's bodies and the notion that a state like Gilead might be the next logical step in our socio-political development.

My initial thoughts were that historical fiction in itself should be enough to warn us against certain behaviours, that we should learn from the lessons of the past and steadfastly commit to 'never again'. As I tore through both novels, I realised that we haven't learnt from the lessons of the past at all, we may never do so and that perhaps it is the mantle of dystopian or speculative fiction to try to get through to us and warn us about where we're heading. All of this means that both novels have made me think a lot and it was an incredible experience reading (and listening) to them both at the same time.

For making me think, cry and want to know more about Francoist Spain, I give The Fountains of Silence a superb five out of five stars and recommend for fans of historical fiction with a unique perspective for English-speaking readers.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! This one will take me days to process fully, maybe even warranting a re-read to fully appreciate the emotional depth of this book. I have never read anything by Sepetys (historical fiction not typically being my forte) but stand enriched by the story presented.

The characters are rich, the story engrossing: the last third was particularly poignant and a portion I primarily read in one sitting, the book as a whole a beautifully woven tale about a significant piece of history I did not know of. Eye-opening and stunning in equal part. If I sound disjarredly speechless, it's because I am. A must read for historical fiction lovers, or apparently, even historically clueless people like myself.

DNF 15%

Sadly this is a book that has been clearly written by a non-Spanish author for a mainly American audience. I'm all for writers setting their novels outside of their country if they can do so convincingly...I think The Fountains of Silence would have worked a lot better if the narrative had just given us Daniel Matheson's perspective. As an America he views Spain and Madrid through an outsider's eyes, and that makes perfect sense. However the novel also follows characters who are supposedly Spanish and yet they seem to view their own country (its politics and its customs) through an American lens. And there are many paragraphs that sound as if they were taken directly from a history textbook, and it felt very forced.
The story is bit too syrupy for my taste and the characters seem speak in platitudes...and I wholeheartedly agree with Nenia's review: this book is far too 'clean' and 'sanitized'.
Finally, if I can smell insta-love within the very first chapters it's not a good sign.

Fountains of Silence by Ruta Sepetys
Before embarking on this book I had not read another Ruta Sepetys novel and I am so gald that I have discovered this author. Although this novel is promoted as a young adult book I think there is enough here to entertain most adults.
The novel is set in Madrid in 1957and the hardships which followed the Spanish Civil War under Franco’s dictatorship were conveyed powerfully. The plight of women, in particular, was difficult to read about and the fact that these events occurred such a short time ago was horrifying. Women were not allowed to be seen out with a man unless they were chaperoned and if they were discovered in this position they would be issued with a yellow card of prostitution. The power which the Guardia Civilia, or Crows, wielded was dramatically conveyed through Daniel’s first encounter with them.
The novel concerns Daniel, a young 18 year old Texan with a Spanish mother, visiting Madrid for the first time. He is passionate about photography and Ben, an American journalist, urges him to capture the true Spain beneath the gloss he sees in the Hilton hotel. He also receives help from Miguel the film store owner and the work of Robert Capa is celebrated here. He forms a relationship with Ana the maid who services his room and through her develops a deeper understanding of the way in which many people are forced to live their lives.
I had read before about the forced adoption of babies and the removal of young children from Republican families during and after the Spanish Civil War but this book brought home the impact which this had on people’s lives. It is shocking that the first “stolen babies” trial did not take place until 2018 when Eduardo Vela a gynaecologist was taken to court.
Another thing which made the book fascinating for me was Ana’s interest in Sorolla having just become entranced by this artist after visiting the National Gallery Exhibition of Sorolla’s work.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

This crossover novel deserves a wide audience..
Interspersed with quotations from people living at the time and historical documents confirming the accuracy of the novel, this vivid description of life in Spain under fascist rule is compelling and at times makes difficult reading.
This is a history lesson about a dark period of Spain’s past, when people lived in fear, lived in poverty and lived with secrets too big to share.
I found the beginning confusing, too many characters introduced too quickly. However, as the story unfolded and the true horror of the regime became apparent, I was hooked!
The meticulous research brought the era to life, an era which still has repercussions to this day.
I will be recommending this title.

With thanks to the publisher for an advance copy via NetGalley in return for my honest review.

This is a brave, well written young adult book which works just as well as adult reading. The setting is Madrid in 1957, when Franco’s grip is still iron but he is starting to woo America for business investment and army bases. 18-year-old Texan Daniel arrives at the luxurious Castellana Hilton Hotel in Madrid with his oil tycoon father and Spanish mother. He is expected to go into the family business but his real love and not inconsiderable talent is for photography. While his father brokers an oil deal and his mother has unexplained dealings with an orphanage, he is set on taking a series of pictures which will document real life in Madrid, to submit to a photojournalism competition. With his Spanish roots he feels an immediate affinity with the country, and his ability to speak fluent Spanish lulls him into a sense of belonging, but as he is repeatedly told, he is an outsider who will find it hard to understand what 20 years of dictatorship and ruthless suppression of dissent will do to a country. 

He is immediately attracted to Ana, the young chambermaid assigned to his hotel room, and soon falls in with the US ambassador’s maverick son Nick and Ben, a jaded journalist who takes him under his wing. He moves in the glittering ex-pat diplomatic world of luxury, but just beyond the surface charm and warmth that Madrid presents to rich Americans there are ominous glimpses of the Crows, Franco’s strong arm, observing any deviation from the strict norm and punishing ruthlessly with beatings and even summary death. Ana lives in the Vallecas, a slum just outside Madrid where the families of Communists are corralled, having had parents and family members killed during the civil war and in the intervening years by Franco’s army. With no running water and families crammed into a single unlit room, life is grim. Nick and Ben obliquely direct Daniel to explore the underbelly of this world, perhaps seeing in his photographic talent, sincerity and innocence a chance to get the real story of the losing side out to the world. With his parents largely away on business, they also take on the role of protecting him as he navigates dangerous waters. 

Sepetys deftly captures the atmosphere of fear that Franco has carefully fostered to retain his grip on the country. Silence is the only way to survive for the many on the losing side of the war, while army and Catholic Church collude to maintain the status quo. The families of communists live in abject poverty, find it difficult to access good education and well paid work, and have been reduced to simply surviving by twenty years of ruthless oppression. Parents, children, relatives have disappeared, forgotten in Franco’s jails or buried in mass graves. Those lucky enough to have a plot in a cemetery are crippled by the monthly rent payments without which their loved ones’ remains would be exhumed and reburied in a mass pit. They are beaten and killed with impunity by the Guardia Civil - there is no justice for such as them. And slowly, slowly, hints emerge of atrocities involving removing babies from communist families to sell them into adoption with ‘good’ parents, that is, Catholics or rich Americans. 

The narrative is interspersed with transcripts of historical interviews with diplomatic and military American personnel, justifying the US’s support of Franco. This is a highly effective technique on the part of the author, juxtaposing the harsh realities of oppression with the official narrative of expediency that we continue to hear today from politicians defending dubious decisions such as arms dealing with countries like Saudi Arabia, or trading with China despite its appalling human rights record, to name a tiny handful. There is a coda to the novel, set eighteen years after the main narrative just after the death of Franco, which resolves the loose threads we were left with when Daniel returned home with his parents and a newly adopted baby sister.

This is quite a long book for a teen novel, but I found it made for compulsive reading and the layers it reveals could not be rushed, so I felt it was paced exactly right. Sepetys is a Carnegie Medal-winning author and I can see why - this is a skilful and assured narrative dealing with a dark historical period which the world still does not know enough about. We are reminded once again that it is very, very easy for our civilised world to slip away and for that to be hidden from a world that is only too willing to turn a blind eye for reasons of profit and political expediency. This is an important book and a riveting story.